TwelveSouth BookBook Vol. 2 for New iPad 3 and iPad 2 Review

It’s a book? Nope! It’s TwelveSouth’s BookBook for the New iPad 3 and iPad 2. Alas, we can emulate the elegance and sophistication of reading a leather-bound hardback book, while we’re actually just looking at funny cat pictures on iPad. This is the second volume of BookBook for iPad, TwelveSouth was able to design it sleeker and lighter with a better iPad holster and two built in stand options.

iPad Cases don’t get much classier looking than BookBook. Aside from the dual zipper running around the case, it’s almost indistinguishable from a vintage hardback book. It’s made of genuine leather and comes slightly pre-worn, or distressed, for that authentic vintage look. The interior is covered in a soft, protective, suede. The two covers are hard and enforced, keeping iPad nice and safe on the inside of BookBook. Another potential form of protection is BookBook’s disguise; it doesn’t look like an iPad, and who steals physical books these days?

TwelveSouth’s design of BookBook is very smart, especially when you consider how thin, usable and protective it is. On the inside of the case there’s a support frame for iPad that’s just connected to BookBook on one side, the other side uses two button snaps to securely mount iPad to the inside cover. iPad can only be inserted and removed from this holster frame while it’s unbuttoned, a nice safety feature. With the frame buttoned, you can use iPad like any other iPad portfolio case. You can even fold the cover behind iPad. With the frame unbuttoned, you can take pictures or use iPad in one of two stand options: upright, or typing mode. In its upright position, iPad is docked landscape ready for facetiming, video watching, web browsing, or actual reading. There’s a fold out stand that sets iPad in a perfect typing orientation.

The BookBook uses two zippers to seal iPad inside, this is nice when you want to charge/sync iPad while maintaining a tight seal around iPad. The same goes for using headphones.

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As an actual everyday case, it really doesn’t get much better than the new BookBook case for iPad. There’s no sacrifice for the incredibly unique and elegant design. All ports are readily accessible. There’s an extra step to use the camera, but not a huge deal. The only improvement we could think of is potentially using Velcro to seal iPad to the inside cover, rather than the two buttons. In terms of size, weight, and usability, it’s quite impressive.

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Dare we label TwelveSouth’s BookBook iPad case as ‘The Ultimate Case‘ for iPad 2 and the New iPad 3? We could. We’re completely enamored with the vintage book design, and love that it’s also a very capable and protective case. BookBook Volume 2 is currently available from TwelveSouth.com in three different color options: Classic Black (pictured), Vintage Brown, or Vibrant Red. At $79.99 (free shipping), it’s not cheap, but once you go hands on, you quickly realize that BookBook is not a $30 case. Also, this is one of the few iPad cases that will actually start to look better as it wears over time.

Price is a bit much and the snaps look annoying. Looks like a discussingÂ pieceÂ more than a functionalÂ piece.Â

Scott

It’s funny, after going hands on, people think that it costs $100. Getting a whiff of the authentic leather puts things into perspective. The snaps are a bit annoying, but it doesn’t make it any less functional. Having reviewed many iPad cases, BookBook is now my go-to specifically because it is so functional *and* such a cool looking case.